I've got some diagnostic time on an early 2000s model a friend bought. I absolutely loved the way it drove - generous suspension travel and the wide wheelbase made for a fun ride if you actually want to do something with it off road; it was a little clumsy on the freeway, which is totally understandable. His had about 150,000 miles on it and it's the only rebuild I've ever seen him give up on, and he usually buys 2-3 vehicles a year and sells them. Most of his/our work has been body, electrical and anything engine - from heads to full swaps to by-hand rebuilds. The Range Rover drove him nuts and I took a look and neither one of us could work out all of the kinks.
This one was very complicated with bells and whistles to include hydraulic suspension stabilization - all four corners were blown, the pump was blown, and it had let go spectacularly. The engine was the buick-derived aluminum V6, and if you haven't read the history of these, it's very telling - buick couldn't build it, they sold the to 'Rover, and they eventually figured out how to make it work... it's a crazy history. Anyway, suffice it to say the way they squeezed it in there was crazy - not meant to be maintained, nothing could be done without pulling off the front of the truck.
Apparently AWD systems in these are not very robust, or they end otherwise seem to end up with AWD problems later in life which ends up with, "remove the front drive shaft." I suspect it's because the T-cases are too expensive to R&R. He actually replaced the T-Case and then spend months tracking down absolutely astounding drivetrain vibrations the likes I've never seen. The rear e-brake is a central rotor/caliper setup on the driveshaft. Cool and powerful, but I suspect may have been the cause because it was the only thing large enough in my mind to exhibit window-cracking vibes.... except that it would go away when the front shaft was removed. We could never figure it out, nor could the local driveshaft shop which also looked at it.
There are very few vehicles that truly hit me as a "don't ever buy used." Certainly as a 3x volvo owner, I'll say wholeheartedly that european vehicles are much easier to live with if you maintain them as they need it. But these - and the way our culture buys them and doesn't maintain them, do not get my vote for a reliable purchase unless you love the vehicle and buy it new or nearly new and are absolutely willing to maintain a complex vehicle.
